Daughter of the Ultimate Life Form :REMAKE
by ScarletKat1
Summary: Remake of my incomplete Daughter of the Ultimate Life Form story. Just a story revolving around Shadow and Amy with their daughter.
1. Chapter 1

"Amy, what are you talking about? That is not my daughter!"

"B-but she can't be anyone else's Sonic! She can only be yours!"

"It's _impossible_! Just look at her! Who does she look like?" Sonic cast an accusing finger at the little bundle Amy held securely in her arms. Tears streamed down Amy's face as she shook her head. Her sad green eyes met enraged and confused eyes as she looked at Sonic. She pursed her lips to say something, but she couldn't find it in her to say what needed to be said.

"What?" the blue hedgehog said, obviously holding back his anger, "What were you going to say? Were you going to admit it?"

The trembling pink hedgehog continued to shake her head. "Shadow is not the father Sonic." she whispered, "He's not…"

"Amy, why the hell do you keep lying? Why are you doing this to me?"

"I would never do something like this to-"

"Yes you would!" Sonic exclaimed, cutting her off, "You're doing it now aren't you?"

"Sonic, please listen to me!" Amy pleaded, setting her daughter in a nearby crib.

"No! Amy, just…just stop all this bullshit!" Sonic took a breath, trying to calm himself. He scratched the back of his head uncertainly.

"I thought I could trust you. Yeah it was a rough time a year ago but…ugh, what the hell Amy? Why would you go with Shadow behind my back?" Sonic was slowly losing control over his growing anger. "I'm gone for a year and I come back to find _that_? A kid that's not even mine?"

"Sonic, listen…"

"No, I will _**not**_listen. How can you explain this?" Amy still trembled, turning her gaze to the floor, feelings of shame washed over her. She felt her knees want to collapse under her, let her fall to the ground and drown in her tears of disgrace.

"Sonic, I-"

"Just get out. Just get the hell out Amy." The hedgehog's tone left no room for argument. It was clear that this conversation was over. Amy leaned on the crib behind her slightly, almost feeling lightheaded. She turned to look at her daughter, whom was surprisingly still happily in her slumber. Amy gently picked up the little black hedgehog, so she would not wake her. She smiled down at her lovingly, running a soft hand through the young hedgehog's fluffy pink bangs. Her motherly smile returned to a saddened frown as she looked back at Sonic, whom had his back towards her.

Amy sighed quietly, taking small steps to the front door of Tails's home. She opened the door to be greeted by a chilling wind wrapping its cold hands around her, blowing her now waist long quills in the air. She shivered and wrapped the blanket around her daughter tighter. She looked back at Sonic as she stepped out.

"Sonic, I'm sorry." The blue hero finally looked at her, turning to face her. For a moment, he looked as if those words were all that he needed to hear to truly forgive the pink hedgehog. But that moment was gone in a flash and his eyes narrowed. He walked toward Amy but stopped short at the opened door. Amy took a few steps back.

"Don't come back." With that, the angered hedgehog shut the door, more quietly than he would've liked to. Amy flattened her ears dejectedly. She began to walk away from the house before a familiar voice stopped her.

"Amy! Why're you leaving so soon? We barely just got back!" Amy turned to look to the second floor patio of Tails's workshop to see none other than the fox boy himself. She smiled warmly at him.

"Sorry Tails! It's past the baby's bedtime!"

"What about that crib I made for her so she can have a place to sleep when you come over?" The fox boy tilted his head to the side confusedly.

Amy shook her head. "I uh…I left all of her stuff at home. I'll come by another time okay? We need to catch up! And I've got to say, you've grown a lot since I last saw you!" Tails chuckled, his twin tails fluttering from side to side.

"Still growing though!" Tails said in a friendly tone. But he then looked at Amy with slight concern."But will you be okay? I know it doesn't take long to get back to the city, but shouldn't Sonic at least go with you? It can get pretty dangerous at night."

"No, I'll be fine. But I better get going tails, the train will leave soon. It was nice seeing you again though!" Amy waved to the fox who in turned waved back. Unbeknownst to Tails, Amy was trying her best to hide the emotional pain she was in. She felt tears wanting to burst out of her with every step she took to the train station. She choked on a small sob as she stepped onto the train. She took a few deep breaths as she took her seat. She leaned back, trying to relax herself as much as possible. However she found it difficult to, with her earlier conversation with the Blue Blur coming back to haunt her. She gazed out the window as the locomotive began to move.

The world going by seemed to calm her. The unclear images she saw sent an almost serene feeling through her. She began to wonder if this is what Sonic felt when he ran.

Sonic.

The serene feeling was gone. She bit her lip, trying to stop herself from any further emotional breakdown she might have. Amy looked down at her daughter, finding her much more at peace than she was. The mother couldn't help but smile.

"Oh Maria, you never fail to make me happy." She motherly kissed Maria's forehead. The young hedgehog seemed to smile in her sleep. Amy was so caught up with Maria, she failed to notice a pack of young wolves watching her from the other end of the train car.

The night had gotten darker by the time Amy reached her stop. The night air was still cold and she wished she could be home instead of walking through a park in the middle of the night. This was her usual walking route to get to her apartment but she rarely took it at dark. Regardless, she continued on her way.

She would've kept walking had Maria not started crying.

"Shh, Maria it's okay! We'll be home soon!" Amy stood under the light of a streetlamp, gently trying to quiet her daughter. She nuzzled her gently.

"I'm sorry I don't have your food with me. I'm sorry it's cold." Amy continued apologizing to the little hedgehog who kept crying loudly. "I'm sorry I got you in the middle of me and Sonic's argument too…"

"I don't think saying you're sorry is going to shut that thing up. What do you think guys?" Amy gasped and instinctively took a few steps away from the voice. She held Maria close as three figures appeared before her. A large gray wolf with cold blue eyes came forth first, closely followed by two other wolves.

"Can I help you?" Amy asked in a brave voice, hiding her fear of these strangers.

"We're just looking a little fun." The brown one laughed. Amy glared at him.

"Go find your fun somewhere else you creeps." One of the wolves howled, making the startled Amy jump.

"I think you're going to be a feisty one." Amy felt one of them grab her by the shoulder and she promptly shoved him away.

"Go away! Leave us alone!" The pink hedgehog was becoming angered and little Maria was now quietly sobbing, confused by the situation. Amy now felt a hand grabbing her by the jaw and pulling her face in its owner's direction.

"You're kind of cute, hedgehog." Amy jerked her face out of his grip. "A little too stubborn to my liking though."

Amy noticed the three wolves had surrounded her, encircling her. She had nowhere to run, and she was incapable of fighting them off with Maria in her arms. She did the only thing she thought she could do.

"Help!" She screamed. But one of the canines quickly slapped her, attempting to shut her up.

"I wouldn't do that again if I were you."

"Nobody will be able to hear her though."

"We won't take our chances."

"Why're you doing this to me?" Amy questioned, rubbing where she was just hit on her face.

"Because we can." One of the wolves replied with a smirk. Amy stood petrified. A growing fear was quickly building up within her. The wolves seemed to be getting closer and closer and the worried mother hedgehog did not know what to do. She glanced down at her teary eyed daughter and back up to the still approaching danger. She took in a deep a deep breath.

"HELP!" She screamed the top of her lungs, "Somebody please, HELP!"

One of the wolves shoved her. "What the hell lady? Shut up!" Amy however continued to scream. She was shoved again but found herself on the ground this time, covering Maria from any harm that may come. Her calls for help never ceased.

The wolves were getting increasingly agitated and began to hit and kick Amy, trying to keep her down. Amy however took every blow to her, desperately wanting someone to save her and her terrified child. No yelling or hit could stop the persistent hedgehog.

"Would you shut up!" One of them yelled, landing a blow to Amy's head, quickly knocking her out cold. Her body went limp and she fell on her side, next to a very alarmed Maria. Maria's whimpers became loud sobs upon seeing her mother collapse beside her.

"What should we do with her now?" The white wolf asked, looking at his Amy's unmoving body.

"Kill her. Things didn't go as planned and if we leave her, she'll go to the cops. Cops will be all over us again."

"Wouldn't they still find her and do some sort of investigation?"

"We'll get away with it."

"What about the kid?"

"Kill it too."

"I'll do the honors. The kid has been annoying me ever since we got here." The leader of the pack said, in a disturbingly calm voice. The white wolf watched as the alpha pulled out a pocket knife and pulled it open. He glared down at Maria.

Maria's cries grew louder upon sighting the sharp blade, clinging to her unresponsive mother. The wolf's eyes narrowed, gripping the blade tighter, preparing to strike at the small and defenseless hedgehog. He lifted the knife above his head, and shot it down toward her.

But no contact was made. No sudden sound of flesh and fur being ripped open, or blood being splattered. First, the surprised wolf saw a hand gripping his wrist tightly, making him incapable of moving his hand. Second, he saw a pair of dark and sinister red eyes. Eyes as red as the blood he was planning to see on his blade. His dark blue eyes widened as the creature with red eyes latched onto his neck tightly, blocking his air from coming in. His feet came off the ground and the knife fell from his hand. But before he register what was going on, that same blade was being pressed against his cheek. The black creature turned his gaze to the other two confused wolves.

"If I were you, I'd run. Otherwise, I'd kill both of you too." He said in a dark and threatening tone. The two wolves took a step back before running off at full speed, fear erasing any idea of saving their leader. The angered creature looked back at the gray wolf in his grasp.

"I don't feel like killing you, so I'll give you a warning." His eyes narrowed, tightening his grip on his neck," Harm this girl again, or anyone for that matter, I _will _kill you. I'll regret letting you live tonight and hunt you down." He pressed the knife tighter against the horrified wolf's cheek, allowing blood to ooze out of the sliced flesh. The wolf was gasping for air, and squirming in his grip. He released the wolf and watched as it chocked for air as he scampered away into the dark.

He then quickly went to Amy's side. He rolled her onto her back and saw some cuts and developing bruises on her. Her unconscious state made him even more worried, however the sight of the little black hedgehog with ruby red eyes, with pink streaks on hers quills startled him. Maria looked up at her and her mother's savior thoughtfully, her crying had ceased. He looked back at Amy and shook her gently, trying to wake her.

"Amy, answer me. Can you hear me?" he asked gently, a very contrasting tone to how he spoke just moments before. He expected no response however, but was relieved when Amy's eyes fluttered open. Her green eyes flashed with recognition.

"Shadow? Shadow is that you?" Amy still seemed a little out of it as she rubbed at her eyes. Shadow said nothing as he waited for Amy to recover. When she looked back up at him, tears filled her eyes. It took Shadow by surprise when she pulled him into a tight hug. Shadow wasn't sure how to respond, but he gently hugged the pink hedgehog back. His eyes seemed lack emotion as he held her.

Amy recomposed herself and let go. She rubbed at her eyes again, trying to wipe away any remaining tears. She smiled at him.

"Sorry, about that…" she looked down, avoiding awkward eye contact with the Ultimate Life form but she gasped upon seeing the bloody knife in his grip. Shadow followed her gaze to the knife, then looked back at her.

"Where did you get that knife and why is there blood…?" she trailed off, quite nervous.

"It belonged to one of them. They were about to attack you with it."

"But why is there blood?"

"I made a small threat." Amy nodded, seeming to understand. She then noticed Maria snuggling close to her, sucking her thumb anxiously. Amy picked Maria up and sat her in her lap, hugging her closely. She kissed her child's head, very happy to know she is safe and unharmed.

"Shadow, thank you. Thank you so much…" It then dawned on her that this was the first time Shadow saw Maria, his daughter. She felt her stomach drop, a sudden anxiety attacking her. She looked up at the black male hedgehog, expecting him to be glaring at her the same way Sonic had when he first saw Maria. But to her great relief, Shadow was only staring at the baby hedgehog in her arms. He seemed to be brooding over something.

"Her name's Maria." He looked up at the mention of the name. Amy wished she could smile at him; show how happy she was to finally have Maria meet her father. How she had been hoping this day would come soon. She originally imagined a day filled with happiness, a day where she and Shadow could celebrate their new lives as parents.

However, the chance of that occurring died about a year and a half ago.

"Quite a resemblance don't you think? I wasn't expecting her to look so much like you." Amy said after a minute of silence. The only sign of Shadow even hearing her was one of his ears turned in her direction. He never took his eyes off of the equally quiet little hedgehog. Her bright red eyes looked at him in curiosity. She reached a tiny hand toward him. Amy watched in wonder as he hesitantly extended his own hand towards her. Maria gripped his index finger and squealed with delight. A small smile graced Shadow's features.

Shadow got to his feet and looked at Amy. He obviously had questions that she needed to answer. With Shadow's help, Amy weakly got to her feet. However, she was still shaken up and wobbly from her previous encounter with the wolves. She leaned on Shadow heavily, leaving little Maria to stand on her feet.

"My head…" Amy tried to explain, but was too dizzy to elaborate further.

"Don't worry. Just hang on." Shadow said calmly before revealing a shining green chaos emerald. Maria hid her face in the skirt of Amy's dress, not wanting the sudden bright light. Shadow looked down at her, checking to see if Amy at least had contact with the little hedgehog. He lifted the chaos emerald above his head.

"Chaos Control!" In a brilliant flash of green, they were gone.

* * *

><p>Okay guys, this isn't FOR SURE, but I might make a COMPLETE version of Daughter of the Ultimate Lifeform. I never finished the original cause I thought it was complete crap lol I'm gonna' TRY and see if I can rewrite it and finish. No guarantees though :O<p>

So don't get your hopes up and expect me to finish this LOL I apologize that it's been 2 years since I last even looked at my fanfiction stuff o-o but again, hopefully I can finish this one. But don't rush me lol

Read and enjoy I guess?

Shadow, Amy, Tails, and Sonic (c) SEGA

Maria (c) me

I don't care about the wolves LOL


	2. Chapter 2

"Amy, we're here." Amy drowsily looked up to find them standing in front of the door to her apartment. She sighed with relief, happy to finally be home. Maria was happy as well. She awkwardly took little steps to the door, babbling cheerfully as she went. She leaned on the door to keep her balance. The little hedgehog looked back up to her parents, waiting for someone to open the door.

Amy slowly got herself out of Shadow's grip and gently pulled Maria away from the door. Maria looked at her mother quizzically but her mother only kissed her little nose. She giggled. Shadow watched as Amy lifted the welcome mat set before the door, searching for a key most likely. She pulled out a very bright pink key, a color which did not surprise the male hedgehog at all.

Amy quickly opened the door, allowing little Maria to wobble in. Shadow took almost timid steps behind Amy, looking around him as he stepped in. Amy's home was small, but homely. It was smartly decorated and a cheerful aura filled the apartment. Everything was the same. Nothing had changed since he was last here. However he couldn't help but notice a familiar picture frame turned face down on one of the side tables. His ears twitched slightly.

Amy had gone to lie on her white sofa, gently placing her head on one of the soft pillows. She closed her eyes, trying to relax herself and forget the throbbing pain she felt on her head. She listened to the sound of Maria playing with a few of her toys near the couch. Her quiet baby babbles let Amy know she was there. She heard Shadow rummaging through cabinets in her kitchen, for what, she was unsure of and the pink hedgehog didn't really care. She knew Shadow wasn't the type to make a mess or go searching for something without a reason. Amy trusted the black hedgehog.

Amy lied there calmly. She felt herself wanting to drift into a nice peaceful sleep, but that persistent pounding pain was all that kept the exhausted hedgehog from dozing off. Well, almost all. Her thoughts began to roam through the confines of her mind. Without much to distract her, Amy was allowed to think about the past, something she had refrained herself from doing since long ago. But the sudden return of a certain black hedgehog had sent those memories flooding in. The pink hedgehog bit her lip.

"Amy." Amy was startled out of her thoughts. With a small surprised jump, she opened her eyes to see Shadow with two small pills in his hand and a glass of water. She eyed the objects curiously as she sat up.

"These should help with your head." Shadow said in that quiet voice of his, seeing as Amy was a little confused.

"Oh!" Amy laughed, feeling a little silly. She thanked Shadow and took the pills one at a time. She set the glass of water on the side table after a few quick sips. The female hedgehog groaned slightly from the pain she was still feeling. She leaned back on the couch, rubbing her head gently. Shadow stood by, waiting to see if she needed anything else. However, Amy wasn't the one who needed something.

Little Maria had gotten up from her previous spot on the floor with her toys and wobbled over to where Amy was. Her father watched awkwardly as the baby hedgehog began to whine for her mother's attention. He eyed Maria, not sure if Amy really wanted to be bothered at the moment. But whether she wanted to be or not, Amy leaned forward and picked Maria up, bringing her to sit on her lap. The male hedgehog couldn't help but notice her delighted smile as she looked at their daughter, any physical pain she felt seemingly being erased.

She cooed at Maria, who only giggled as her mother played with her. Amy nuzzled her nose against her daughter's, her smile beaming.

Shadow watched, feeling so very distant from the mother and daughter before him. He knew he had a place here somewhere. But he didn't know where. The dark hedgehog wished he knew where he was supposed to be in this picture. However, a part of him was glad that there was a wall separating him from this family he had somehow attained. Yet there was that other part of him that was screaming for him to break past this wall and be with his family. He glanced back at that face down picture frame. He felt a small flame of anger spark within him.

"Oh Maria, you're hungry aren't you?" Shadow's was broken out of his thoughts by the sound of Amy's voice. He looked back over to see that Maria had grasped onto her hand and was gently sucking on her index finger. Amy released her hand from the baby's grip, making Maria whine slightly.

"I'll have your bottle ready for you in just a second." The pink hedgehog said as she stood, still holding Maria. She was about to set her daughter back down, but before she did, she took a thoughtful look at Shadow. Shadow looked at her questionably.

"Shadow, would you like to hold her?" Amy laughed upon seeing the look on Shadow's face. The always serious hedgehog had an _almost_ surprised expression. But despite this, Amy found this very amusing.

"It isn't that hard to hold a baby you know." She said, still trying to stifle her giggles. His expression had darkened back to normal and he simply looked at Maria, almost dumbfounded.

"Is it necessary that I hold her?"

"Well no, but I'm only asking. I thought you might like to." Amy replied with a gentle smile. He brooded over it a moment more before looking away.

"Fine." Amy almost jumped for glee, but she luckily contained her excitement. However she couldn't hold back a joyous grin. Shadow knew this made the pink hedgehog happy just by that. Why it did baffled him though.

Amy walked toward him, bringing Maria out to him. He was about to reach out for her before Maria began to softly cry. Shadow immediately withdrew, afraid he did something wrong. Amy sighed, pulling Maria back.

"She does this," she explained, looking a little disappointed, "I'm afraid she gets scared around strangers, or at least, when they hold her. I was hoping she wouldn't do that with you…I'm sorry." Amy's apology was heartfelt. She was just a little let down when Maria didn't want to be held by her father. She looked at Shadow, seeing if he was as disappointed as she was. To her dismay, he didn't seem at all fazed. She frowned slightly as she put Maria back with her toys, leaving for the kitchen.

However, Maria didn't care to play with her toys at the moment. She watched from her spot at her mother, curious to see if she was making her food. But that unfamiliar black hedgehog caught her eye. She stared at him the way all children seem to do when they see something or someone interesting. Her big scarlet eyes followed him as he took a seat in the big comfy chair near the couch. She babbled quietly.

Shadow rested his head on his hand, feeling slightly tired now. Or rather, exhausted. He felt weak. Incredibly weak. This irritated the hedgehog beyond belief. Him? The Ultimate Life Form weak? Unbelievable. But this was something he had been dealing with for a very long time now. He has spoken of this to no one and he planned to keep it that way. Weakness was unacceptable for the Ultimate Life Form.

A small doll was dropped onto Shadow's lap. He looked down to see Maria had walked over to him and given him her toy. The small hedgehog leaned on his knees for support, looking up at him with her big ruby eyes. The male hedgehog picked up the doll, looking over it curiously. Unsure of what to do with the little toy, he looked back at his daughter. She only stared back at him.

"Did she give her toy to you? That's so cute!" Both hedgehogs took notice of Amy standing there shaking a bottle of milk. When she saw the bottle, Maria quickly went to her mom, reaching up for it. The mother hedgehog smiled down at her.

"Okay okay, come over here Maria." Amy sat down on the couch from before, little Maria following her. Shadow watched Amy help her daughter back onto her lap, the tiny hedgehog quickly latching onto the bottle. She made soft sucking noises as she happily drank the milk.

"I've trying to wean her off milk. I've been asking Cream and her mom for help but Vanilla recommended I learn on my own. She told me how to do it and all, but this is just a little new to me. So basically, I'm a tad clueless." Amy said with a small laugh, helping Maria hold the bottle for she was too little to hold the bottle by herself. Shadow emitted a subtle "hmph" letting her know he was listening. The pink hedgehog looked over at the quiet hedgehog to see him staring at the floor, as if pondering over something.

"Is something wrong?" Shadow's crimson eyes shot up to her, a mixture of anger and sadness swirling about in his eyes. Amy's ears drooped slightly.

"Shadow?"

"What were you doing out there at this time of night?" His dark voice seemed to pierce the air. The sound sent gentle shivers down Amy's spine. Her emerald eyes looked away uneasily before returning to his gaze. He took note of this.

"I was at Cream's. You know, getting help? I stayed longer than expected and I needed to get Maria home."

"Couldn't they drive you home? It doesn't seem like them to allow you to do something so stupid as walking home with a baby at night."

"I insisted!" Amy said a little too quickly, "I walked there and I wanted to walk back. She doesn't live very far you know." The pink hedgehog tried to give a smile, trying to show she was being sincere with him. However the black hedgehog's sneer gave away that he wasn't buying this. Amy kept her small smile plastered on her face. She was expecting him to continue asking her questions about her night but to her utter surprise, he didn't.

"Can you tell me about her?" The pink hedgehog's eyes widened slightly.

"You mean Maria?" he nodded. "What do you want to know? Anything specific?"

"How old she is, what day she was born, things somewhere along those lines." Amy looked up thoughtfully, trying to recall everything she could about the day Maria was born. She tapped her chin as she tried to remember.

"Well, her birthday is December 22. She's almost a year old. And umm…she was born at night I think? Around 11 o' clock is all I can remember…"

"Were you well taken care of during the time you were pregnant?" This question surprised Amy. She felt butterflies flutter in her stomach.

"W-why do you ask?"

"I am only curious."

"Uh well…I've been living on my own since I got pregnant with her. I've had help though! Cream and Vanilla of course, Tails built her a crib, and…Sonic, of course. He's always willing to help as you know."

Shadow listened intently. He couldn't help but notice the slight pause Amy had before she spoke Sonic's name. He said nothing though. Amy continued talking.

"And Maria…well, she's a very calm baby. She doesn't cry much. Vanilla told me to expect her to be crying almost all the time but she hasn't. Which is a relief! Not having anyone around to help me when Maria's upset kind of freaks me out. It's kind of silly of me but I'm still learning!" That bright smile of hers was beginning to put the black hedgehog on edge. Shadow knew she couldn't possibly be this calm about his return. They had not seen each other since he left. Amy Rose was heartbroken then and the Ultimate Life Form knew she would be now. She loved him then and she would still love him now. Her love for him would be tearing her apart every second he stayed in her presence. It was a terrible thing for the pink hedgehog to go through and he wished it wasn't true.

But Shadow didn't even know if it was true. He couldn't tell how Amy was dealing with him suddenly popping back up into her life. He desperately searched her bright green eyes for a sign. A sign that she still loved him, cared for him, wanted him back in her life. He could only find that beautiful light that always seemed to shine from them. He yearned to see past that. He craved to see her true feelings. It's as if he wanted the incarnation of her emotions to come forth and just simply pour out everything that the manifestation held within. He would rejoice if she loved him, but not be fazed if she didn't. He was the Ultimate Life Form. Being 'ultimate' meant not needing anything from anyone else. He was self sufficient. He could survive on his own for eternity.

But he fell weak when it came to such simple emotions. He fell for the Amy Rose long ago. Amy had grown tired of playing that endless game of cat and mouse and got over the blue hero and it wasn't that much later when she developed an infatuation for Shadow. Amy initially only wanted to build a friendship with the loner but she began to seek after him almost the same way she did for Sonic when she was younger, only not as childishly. And to her surprise, her affections were returned. Her playful and endearing nature had caught the mysterious black hedgehog's attention. At first he was a little unreceptive to her as a friend let alone anything else. But she steadily grew on the ebony hedgehog.

And he fell for her harder than he would have ever expected.

"Is there anything else you wanted to ask?" Amy pleasantly asked the silent hedgehog. She cocked her head to side slightly when he continued to sit in silence, looking away from her. The mother uneasily sat there as she waited for any reply from him.

"I want to know," he spoke, making Amy's ears perk up," why you never told me you were going to have Maria." His words were gentle, but with a slight edge.

"Well I…" The question had caught the mother hedgehog completely off guard. She stuttered, remembering why she never did. She looked at him sadly.

"Remember the day you left?" he nodded, looking at her intently. She sighed.

"That was the day I was going to tell you but…I'm sure you remember why I couldn't." Shadow sneered, his eyes narrowing.

"Amy, I had my reasons for leaving." He tried to explain. She only smiled. Again.

"It's fine, Shadow. I'm sure you did." She took the empty bottle out of Maria's grasp. The little hedgehog emitted a wide yawn.

"It's time for Maria to go to bed. After I wash her bottle, I'm going to bed too. Umm…I have a small bed in Maria's room you can sleep in. It's just there incase guests don't want to sleep on the couch. You can sleep anywhere you want though."

Shadow stayed in place as Amy put Maria to bed, washed her bottle, and walked to her bedroom. Amy took one last glance at him still sitting on that chair before she closed the door to her room.

* * *

><p>I. AM. STARVING. and 3:30 in the morning. Oh how summer vacation screws over my sleeping schedule.<p>

Okay yeah, second chapter. I added ALOT of stuff compared to the original story. In the original, I couldn't help but notice that I didn't have much stuff about Shadow and Amy's relationship. So again, added stuff LOL

I'm going to go eat now. Enjoy~


	3. Chapter 3

Night was a time of solace for Shadow the hedgehog. The darkness enveloped him in a cold embrace, hiding him away from the misfortunes of life the light of day so cheerily exposed to him. Do not misunderstand, the warmth of the sun was something he relished in, but there was just something about the beauty of the white shimmering light of the moon that enraptured the ebony hedgehog. He felt the night sky was far more stunning than day. He stared up at the sky from Amy's apartment's balcony in wonder, the lights from above reflecting off of the scars on his quills. There was a full moon, with dozens of twinkling stars about, as if they were winking at him.

A winter wind danced about, giving Shadow a few small shivers and making his fur stand on end. He didn't seem too bothered by the cold though, for he stayed leaning on the balcony gazing up at the heavens above him. But something else was troubling him. He sneered.

"I'm a fool…" He spoke aloud, clenching his fist. "I ran away like a coward…I shouldn't have done this. I shouldn't have done anything that I've done…" Shadow gritted his teeth, that flame of anger from before was beginning to spark up again. His hands began to ache from how tightly they were fisted.

"Does this change anything? No, it can't…both Amy and Maria are endangered. I can't possibly stay. I just can't." His red eyes gleamed as he brooded over what he should do. He glanced behind him, looking through the sealed glass doors into the home of the ones he loved. Though it was dark now, there was still a certain warmth radiating from it. He solemnly looked away. The white glowing heavenly body above would be giving no more of her comfort tonight for she blanketed herself in a blanket of gray clouds, hiding herself away from the world. Shadow watched as his light disappeared.

He stood there for a few more moments, losing himself in his thoughts. His body tensed slightly for a second as he came out of his contemplation. He thoughtfully took one last look at the apartment. He saw his dark reflection in the glass door. It almost as if there was another one of him standing inside the home, giving him that strange and almost saddened look, pleading for something. He looked past that and took in the surroundings through the glass, not wanting to forget a thing. He only wanted to forget that picture frame.

_"Goodbye once more, Amy. I apologize for everything I've done to you."_

The hedgehog was prepared to leap out of the balcony and run away. Again. And this time, not come back. But something stopped him. His cut ear twitched as he heard a small sound come from inside Amy's home. He wasn't sure of the sound, and he almost dismissed it but something in his gut told him to stay and find the noise. He reluctantly opened the sliding doors and the sound became clearer.

It was Maria's cries.

Feeling almost bound to his duty as a father, he went to go see his daughter. He quietly closed the doors behind him and went to the baby hedgehog's room. He opened the door to see a pink room with toys scattered about and of course, a crib. He walked over to Maria's crib, carefully stepping over her belongings. He awkwardly looked over into the crib, not sure of what to do. Maria looked up at him, not ceasing her crying one bit. Her big red eyes looked up at her father with big tears pouring out of them. She sat there clutching a small pony toy as she continued to wail. Shadow looked at her with gentle glowing eyes.

"Please, do not cry." He said in a voice as soft as satin. Shadow reached over into the crib and gently started stroking her dark pink streaked quills. Maria continued crying but looked up at the big and kind hedgehog. His warm hand began to comfort her as he kept petting the little hedgehog and her sobbing stifled down to little sniffles and hiccups. The father hedgehog continued this until Maria had completely stopped.

When she did, he stopped his comforting, much to the disappointment of the baby hedgehog. She wobbly stood up, leaning on the railing of the crib. Shadow looked at her curiously as she whined slightly, extending her little arms towards him. She almost started tearing up again when he didn't immediately reach for her. The still awkward Shadow tenderly picked her up, more out of fear of her starting up another crying fit than anything else. It took him a second to figure it out how to properly hold her, but when he had her securely in his arms, Maria clung to her father, nuzzling into the white tuft of fur on his chest. Despite his outward appearance, Maria felt safe with this new hedgehog. This stranger was surprisingly very warm…

For the next 30 minutes or so, the Ultimate Life Form found himself pacing back and forth across the room with his little life form slowly drifting back to sleep. Shadow put up with the baby drool on his fur as he patiently waited for her to fall back into her slumber. He looked down at her, noticing how she had her tiny fragile hand still clinging to his fur. He let out a small chuckle as he continued to gaze at her.

Such a small little thing she was. Shadow had seen infants before but not one as little as Maria. She was not unhealthily small…just how she was. Maria's ebony fur blended in with his own, almost disappearing into him. However, her pink quills stood out from the rest of her. They were of course pink streaked, inheriting the pink from her mother, but they were a deeper pink than Amy. Her quills were a mix of Shadow and Amy's; they stood up like Shadow's but smoothed out like Amy's. The combination gave her quills like Sonic. And her eyes…well, the black hedgehog didn't need to think twice about whose eyes the infant had.

As some time went on, and Shadow kept looking over his daughter, he came to realize something…that he felt happy. And content. Holding his daughter in his arms gave him a feeling he had never had before. It was something about knowing that the baby he was holding was his. That he was someone she needed. He was her gentle protector. Holding Maria tied a small bond between him and her. A small and unbreakable bond.

Shadow now couldn't find it in him to leave. How he desperately needed to but he feared he might die without this feeling. He didn't want to leave Maria. Nor Amy.

He and Amy created this little life together. In a way, Maria is the knot that tied the pink and black hedgehogs together.

Shadow had tried to cut all ties with her, despite how great his love was for Amy. And with a new little girl to care of, destroying everything he loved was so much harder to do.

That's good...isn't it?

* * *

><p>Amy stirred. She sleepily opened her eyes, groaning slightly. She leaned up and looked over at her digital clock. She sighed in irritation.<p>

"3:25…why did I wake up at this time of the night?" She asked herself, stretching as she did. The pink hedgehog ran a hand through her long quills, trying to fix her bed head. She let out a few more groans as she rubbed at her eyes.

"I should probably check on Maria…" The tired hedgehog slid off her bed and headed to the baby's room. She closed her eyes and yawned as she stepped into the room.

"You're awake." Amy jumped when she heard Shadow speak, a small squeak escaping her. She sighed, putting her hand over heart.

"Oh my goodness Shadow, you almost gave me a heart attack!" She exclaimed in an almost scolding manner. She was about to question him as to why he was in Maria's room when she noticed the little bundle soundly asleep in his arms. She looked in wonder as Shadow gently rocked her in his arms, appearing as if he's been doing this all his life. Amy was astounded at the sight before her.

"I never knew you were so good at parenting, Shadow." Amy remarked, a smile gracing her features. The black hedgehog didn't say anything but Amy knew he was listening. She could hardly take her eyes off of the suddenly fatherly Ultimate Life Form even as she quietly went to turn on a nearby lamp. The dim light didn't disturb the baby hedgehog.

Amy felt like crying. She was just so happy that her emotions just wanted to come pouring out of her. She restrained herself but her eyes still got a bit watery. A small sniffle drew the dark hedgehog's attention to her.

"Is something wrong?"He asked, his glowing red eyes looking over at Amy. The pink hedgehog blinked away the oncoming tears few times and nodded at him. Her smile grew a bit more though.

"Would you believe me if I said I was really really happy?" She giggled, "I've just been waiting for the day to see you and Maria together. It's silly, but seeing this is just so overwhelming." Her voice cracked slightly. Speaking of her feelings over the sight before her was not helping her hold back the tears of joy. A few small droplets of happiness fell from her emerald eyes and she quickly wiped them away. She whispered out an apology as she did so.

"Amy.."

"Isn't she the most beautiful baby you've ever seen?" Amy could tell she was losing a hold of herself. She could feel her feelings beginning to take control of her and she was helpless to do anything but let them take over. She watched as Shadow slowly backed down to their daughter. He nodded.

"I'm glad you think that." She smiled brightly at him but then, her smile slowly fell from her face. Her ears drooped slightly.

"Shadow?" The black hedgehog looked back over at her expectantly, "Remember the day you…left?" She trailed off, feeling nervous now. Shadow now listened intently, still gently holding Maria.

"Well…I was going to tell you about Maria that day. But I was scared…We were getting a little distant during that time and I was afraid you wouldn't want her. You appeared to have less and less interest in me…so I figured you wouldn't want anything to do with her…" Amy fiddled with her hands nervously, avoiding eye contact with those staring red eyes.

"I'm not heartless, Amy." Shadow spoke, using a very soft tone. Amy looked up at him, giving him a small smile.

"I know. That's why I wanted to say I'm sorry. I should've just trusted you and told you." Her smile hurt him. Shadow could now see the hurt in her eyes. Those previous events really took a toll on her. It killed him inside to see his now ex-lover like this.

"Don't apologize. If I had stopped to listen to you then, we wouldn't be in this situation now. I would've stayed Amy." He responded while finally setting little Maria back into her crib. He softly laid her on her back and watched as she fidgeted a little then made a little sigh. Shadow looked back over to Amy.

"It's all in the past now, Shadow." She said, not as cheerily as she probably wanted, "But…was everything you said that day...true?" There was a long pause. He had looked away, appearing as though he was thinking but Amy was pretty sure he was just trying to not look at her. He closed his eyes and sighed.

"Okay, I'm sorry. You don't have to answer that! I understand." Amy awkwardly began walking out the door, feeling the need to escape the situation she had put herself into. But that deep and soft as satin voice stopped her.

"Amy." She looked over her shoulder at him, her long quills falling over her shoulders. Their eyes locked for what seemed like minutes before anyone said a word.

"Yes, Shadow?" She caught a glint of something in those blood red pools when she said his name. But she was unsure of what it was.

The dark male hedgehog suddenly broke their gaze and began walking out the door of the room. Amy watched and followed him, curious as to why he was acting so strange. She observed him as he headed for the balcony of her apartment.

"Shadow?" She called out as he opened the sliding doors. He looked over his shoulder at her, like she had done just moments before. Their eyes locked again.

"I'll return." With that, he leaped from the balcony and disappeared into the night. Amy tried to chased after him went out onto the terrace. But he was already gone. The only trace he left was the golden trail from his air shoes slowly disappearing down his path. The wind hugged its cold arms around her, tossing her quills about. She hugged herself, rubbing her arms for warmth. The pink hedgehog sighed sadly as the last glimpse of gold vanished. However, the dark night suddenly became brighter, as the moon above came back out. Amy looked up at the beautiful full moon in all of its glory. With the clouds moving on, the moon's companions of the night now sparkled brightly across the now revealed sky. Even the wind danced away with the clouds and the atmosphere was now calm and serene.

Amy then retired back inside, quietly closing the sliding doors and heading to her room. She climbed back into her bed but could not sleep. The hedgehog she still held dear in her heart had left her once again and she wasn't sure if she could trust him to come back. She stifled a small sob and tossed and turned for the rest of the night.

**Omg I'm so sorry for the long wait. School has been VERY. BUSY. Like, I haven't had much free time to work on this story AT ALL. Well..that's sort of a lie. When I'm not busy, I like to sleep. Simple as that. But yeah, here's the next chapter :3 Enjoy Shadow, Amy, and their baby lol~ Also, constructive criticism is encouraged! :)**


	4. Chapter 4

Shadow ran. Shadow ran because he was running away from something. Something he couldn't escape. The Ultimate Life Form didn't want to leave earlier, but he had to. He had to escape the thoughts running through his mind. But they chased after him relentlessly. So he kept running. His breathing got heavier..

Suddenly, a surge of fatigue struck the black hedgehog. It took him by such surprise, he stumbled. His legs lost all strength in that one second and the hedgehog hit the pavement hard as he fell. The speed at which he was going shoved him against the cement and skid him on it for about 20-30 feet. Shadow groaned when he came to a stop, weakly getting up. He rubbed the asphalt off his face and chest, looking around. Seeing no one in the general area, he took a second to recover himself without having to worry about his dignity. Still, feeling so very weak and letting it show killed him. He winced slightly as he got up, his skin burning from the fall.

Shadow found himself leaning against a wall, breathing slightly heavier than usual. He rested an arm and his head against the brick wall of a building, trying to regain his strength. His eyes furrowed in frustration as he weakly tried to stand back up.

"Damn it…" He swore under his breath when he felt his knees wobble underneath his weight, "I shouldn't have been so careless with my energy…" he said to himself, beginning to take small light steps down the sidewalk. The race away from Amy's home practically drained all of his energy and him tripping wasn't helping either. His tired red eyes searched his surroundings.

He was somewhere within the city which was fairly obvious, but he was in a less remote part of town. There were neither pedestrians nor cars going by. Most of the stores and businesses around seemed to be closed. However, he noticed there was one place still open. The black hedgehog felt he knew the place and curiously walked down the street to see what it was. His ruby orbs looked up at the lit up name of the place and he couldn't help but let out a small chuckle as he suddenly remembered where he was.

"Club Rouge." He read aloud. He quietly looked through the tinted windows, attempting to see through them. Of course, it was proving rather difficult. He sighed and looked at the door. He contemplated a little over whether he should go inside or not. But he figured he needed a place to rest and relax a bit. Perhaps catch up with a friend he had not seen in a long while.

He weakly opens the door to come face to face with a white bat.

"Oh my goodness Shadow it is you!" She exclaimed, giving a short but tight hug. Shadow leans against the doorframe after the hug, starting to feel weak again. The woman looks over him with concern.

"Shadow are you okay? I saw you looking in and you looked, and still look, awful…"

"I'm fine, Rouge. I just need to rest." Rouge nodded at her close companion and eagerly helped him to a seat near the bar area. She worriedly watched as he even struggled slightly to sit.

"You still haven't gotten better?" She asked, taking a seat next to him. "Shadow, it's been so long…"

"Yes, I know Rouge." He snapped at her. His frustration with his current physical condition was making his temper flare up. "There isn't much I can do."

Rouge sighed at him, her blue eyes showing her annoyance at him. "Well, is there anything I can get you to make you feel any better? It'll be on the house." She asked, watching him as he leaned forward to rest his head on his hands.

"Water will be adequate."

"No little cocktail or Absolut Vodka? You're no fun." She said teasingly as she retreated from her seat to go to the bar. Shadow listened as she rummaged for a cup then turned on water from perhaps a faucet or something. Her heard heels as she came strutting back to him.

"Here's your water." He leaned back from his position and took the cup from her and taking a few small sips.

"Thanks…" he muttered to her. She smiled at him.

"No problem Shadow." The white bat returned to her seat next to him. "It's been a while hasn't it?"

"It has."

"Where have you been all this time? You just randomly cut off contact with me! I got worried you know. Not to mention GUN getting on my case for your disappearance." Shadow seemed to hardly be paying attention to her as Rouge continued to talk and express her concern but she hardly noticed his indifference.

"I called everyone to see if they knew where you disappeared to. I even got a hold of that knucklehead echidna. But what got me really riled up was that even Amy Rose didn't know what happened." Shadow's eyes shot up to hers as she said that. The black hedgehog appeared to almost be glaring at his friend.

"You contacted Amy?"

"Yeah, I did. Is that a problem?" Shadow sneered at her, looking back at his glass of water. Rouge crossed her arms, giving him her own glare.

"Well, someone here doesn't know how to appreciate a good friend's concern."

"I don't need concern Rouge. I need to figure things out."

"What things Shadow? What in the world has happened with you?" Shadow looked back at her, giving a soft and almost mournful look. This in turn softened up Rouge's facial expression.

"Did you know Amy was pregnant?" He asked quietly. Rouge gave him a bewildered look.

"Pregnant?" she questioned. Shadow sighed.

"I ran into her earlier tonight. She had a child with her." Rouge gasped, putting her hand over her chest in astonishment.

"Shadow, you're a father? But…how old is the kid?"

"About a year." Rouge was starting to freak out a bit.

"You mean…Amy was pregnant…when you disappeared?" He nodded. Rouge leaned back in her seat, exhaling a breath she seemed to be holding in. Shadow nodded solemnly at her.

"Shadow…I...I don't know what to say about this. This is so unexpected."

"I'm as shocked as you are Rouge…perhaps even more."

"Well I wouldn't blame you. But it's something really strange, isn't it? Shadow the Hedgehog, Mr. Ultimate Life Form himself, a father to a baby boy."

"Girl."

"Sorry?"

"The child is a girl."

"Oh, sorry." Rouge apologized, laughing a little at her mistake. "I just kind of figured it would be a boy. Guess my intuition was off this time. But just this once." The white bat added with a playful wink at the black hedgehog. With no immediate reaction coming from her friend, Rouge leaned back a little more in her seat, examining him. Shadow looked at her questionably.

"What is it?" He asked, making a quiet 'hmm' came from her. She had a thoughtful look in her teal eyes.

"Tell me about your daughter, Shadow." Shadow gave her a strange look, slightly confused, but found no harm in her question. Rouge sat by patiently yet eagerly as she awaited his reply.

"The child is a perfect blend of Amy and I. She has black fur as well as the same markings as I do…however, they're pink like her mother. Maria also shares the same eye color as me." Rouge blinked in a baffled manner.

"Your daughter's name is Maria?"

"Amy named her." Rouge smiled warmly at him.

"That's a wonderful name for her. Glad Amy thought of it."

"Hey lady! How about 'nother beer for me, huh?" A guy standing a little tipsy near the bar called out to Rouge. Rouge looked over at him with fake smile plastered to her face.

"I'll be right there honey." She gave Shadow a look that showed how much the bat didn't want to cater to the drunk man's 'needs'.

"This guy has had about 4 to 5 beers already." She whispered to Shadow before she strolled to the bar area to get the drunk another beer. Shadow could see why Rouge was so annoyed with the porcupine still begging for his drink. He was leaning over the bar, smiling at Rouge like an idiot.

"You've got nice curves…" He slurred out as he admired Rouge's figure. The beautiful white bat only smiled at him, sending a flirtatious wink his direction.

"You're too kind. And here's your drink big guy." She said to him with her seductive and alluring voice. She leaned over more than she needed to when she handed him his drink. The male porcupine's eyes widened at the sight before him. He reached for his drink, but his eyes were somewhere else. With his attention drawn elsewhere, Rouge lifted the bottle away from him before he could grasp it. The intoxicated porcupine looked at her with a puzzled expression when he grabbed the air instead of his very wanted drink.

"I need some money before you can have this you know." She said teasingly. He gave her a lazy smile, bringing out his wallet and grabbing a random amount of cash out of it and setting it all on the bar.

"Anything for you.~" He drawled out, his speech seeming to slur more. Rouge's blue eye shadow sparkled under the dim lights as she took the money, flashing him another coy smile. The male porcupine attempted to dazzle the bat with his own smile, but was too drunk to even do that properly. The seductress sneered as he walked away, beer in hand. She could hear Shadow's low chuckle from where he was sitting.

"Do you do this every night?" He asked humorously when she gave him a quizzical look, returning to her seat next to him once more. She sighed as she began to count the money that was just given to her.

"Unfortunately. But, it works. Works miraculously well on drunkards like that idiot though." She laughed. Shadow shook his head at her. "See? I got about $25.00 from that guy for a ridiculously cheap beer."

Just then, the distinct sound of the entrance door bell rang. Rouge, more preoccupied with her money, didn't bother to welcome her customer. Shadow noticed the newcomer but didn't say a word. His crimson eyes only stared as the customer took a seat on the far end of the bar area.

"Where is the bartender?" He called out in a rather saddened voice.

"I'll be right there sweetie." Rouge replied, pocketing away her money. She hurriedly left Shadow and went to greet the patron. The black hedgehog still stared at him.

"Welcome to Club Rouge. Anything you want today-…Sonic?" The white bat said in a surprised voice. The blue hedgehog looked up at her, giving her a weak smile, adjusting his green scarf slightly..

"Hey Rouge."

Well, I wasn't expecting you to be back in town anytime soon Big Blue. How was that little adventure you and that fox boy went on?"

"It was fine. It didn't feel like I was gone for long though. But give me a few shots. I don't care what kind."

"Not having a good day, big guy?" The blue hedgehog shrugged, expressing that he didn't want to speak of it. Rouge frowned sadly, not used to seeing the usual optimistic hero so down. She turned around to getting to work on those shots.

"So, when'd you get back?"

"Earlier tonight?"

"Tonight?" The female bartender asked in disbelief, "I would expect you'd be getting some rest by now."

"Can't sleep."

"Poor you. Here, there's nothing special about the shots since I just whipped them up. No charge by the way. Think of them as a welcome home present." He gave an appreciative nod to her before taking the shot and quickly gulped it down. He grimaced a little but shook it off rather quickly. The bat had already set out two more shots for him.

"If it's any consolation at all, you're not the only one having a rough night." His green eyes dazedly looked up her.

"You're not doing so well either?" The hero guessed, reaching for the second shot.

"Not me, but Shadow." Sonic froze in place, the glass he was holding just barely touching his lips.

He set it back down. "Shadow's back too?" Rouge was a bit taken aback by his quick reaction but nodded at his question.

"Y-yeah. He's here Sonic…" The white bat felt unsure of telling the blue hedgehog this due to his almost enraged facial expression. Sonic frantically looked around the bar, searching for his dark counterpart. He squinted, the dim atmosphere making it more difficult for his tired eyes. But those glowing red eyes were unmistakable. His green eyes locked on to Shadow the hedgehog.

Shadow watched as the blue hero stomped over to where he was seated, stopping just short of his breathing space. The black hedgehog eyed Sonic's fists, watching as they trembled. In fact, he noticed that his entire body shook. Before he could even look Sonic back in the eye, he had thrown an incredibly powerful punch to the Ultimate Life Form's face. Shadow flew off his chair and landed a few feet away. He groaned, weakly leaning up on his elbows. He glared up at Sonic.

"What the hell was that for?" He angrily asked. His reply was Sonic pulling him to his feet by the fur on his chest.

"You damn well know what it was for. You know what you did Shadow!" Sonic bared his fangs as he growled out his words. Shadow pushed himself out of his grip.

"No I don't. What the hell did I do?" Sonic was about to land another blow to Shadow when Rouge intervened.

"Sonic! You will _not_ fight Shadow in my bar. Let alone fight him in his condition." She explained to him as she stood between the two hedgehogs, her wings spread out. Sonic angrily looked at her.

"Condition? What condition? He seems to be in good enough condition to screw around with somebody else's _girlfriend_." Shadow gently pushed Rouge aside.

"Girlfriend? What are you talking about?"

Sonic was fuming as he flattened his ears. He was about lunge at the ebony hedgehog but Rouge was keeping him from doing so.

"You got Amy pregnant, you **bastard**! She was with me! She _cheated_ on me with you! She was supposed to have _my _kid! Not _yours!_" Shadow looked shocked. His eyes widened as he heard the words escape the blue hero's mouth.

Amy cheated on Sonic…

With him…?

He felt his world want to collapse. Was he lied to as well…? Was Amy…playing them both? He could hear Rouge's voice talking to him, but it was all dulled out. He only heard noise.

"Amy was _mine_!" The sound of glass shattering struck his ears. But the words he heard are what pierced him. More of the white bat's voice…garbled yelling…a door being slammed…

Silence.

For a minute, the quietness was all the black hedgehog heard. But a gentle hand shook him from stupor.

"Shadow?" A small pause.

"Is it true, Rouge? Were Amy and Sonic together?"

"I don't know the whole story, Shadow. But as far as I know…yes."

He looked up at his friend, the utter confusion and sadness flowed freely throughout his eyes. Rouge had known Shadow for years. She knew him when he was coldhearted and never let anyone see past his tough outer exterior. But as time passed, she saw the ice surrounding him melt away, slowly, but surely as he grew to trust the people around him. She knew it was Amy Rose who had helped chip the cold away more than anyone. She knew Amy had secured a place in the Ultimate Life Form's heart that no one else could possibly have. But she could feel his whole world shattering as he held back his tears.

* * *

><p><em>WEEEELL...<em>

This chapter wasn't in the original. And it's total crap. I don't like this chapter very much buuut...it could be worse haha.

Oh, and please don't tell me how out of character Shadow is. He's supposed to have softened up a bit. It's been like...10-13 years since he was first introduced back with the whole ARK incident. And stuff.

Bleeeeegh.


	5. Chapter 5

Sonic sped through empty streets, his anger fueling as adrenaline. His heart was pounding, his teeth were gritted together, a fire seemed to burn in his eyes. The blue hero could not believe the events that happened all in one night. It was too much. It seemed like his anger was ready to burst out of him any second. He could already feel it seeping out of him as he felt water stream forth from his emerald eyes.

With his vision increasingly blurring, the hedgehog came to a slow stop, stifling a sob as he held back his sadness. He blinked the tears away, taking a deep breath. He rubbed at his slightly runny nose.

"It's cool Sonic. Don't worry, everything will work out," he said, trying to give a pep talk to himself," tonight's just not your night. It could be worse…there are worse things than your girlfriend cheating on you and finding out she's been pregnant with someone else's kid. No problem…" He felt his lip quiver.

"No problem at all…" He took a slow steady breath, once more trying to calm himself. His thoughts however came flying back to his earlier confrontation with the Ultimate Life Form.

"Bastard…" he spoke aloud, his anger coming back once more. Sonic mumbled more obscene words about the black hedgehog as he fumbled with his gloves, unsure of what else to do or where to go. He didn't want to go back to Club Rouge. Not even Tail's workshop. Unfortunately for the fox, Sonic only gave him the cold shoulder earlier and ran out the door when the young fox asked his friend about Amy. There was just no one in particular he felt he could talk to about this matter. A sudden winter chill sent shivers down the blue hedgehog's spine. He went to adjust his scarf only to find it wasn't there. He looked down in surprise, not expecting it to disappear. He sighed.

"Must've left it at Club Rouge…" he mumbled sadly. But thinking of the scarf made him realize he forgot something else, something that made his gut lurch from even momentarily forgetting about. His eyes widened as it hit him.

Almost frantically, he looked at his surroundings. He green orbs eyed the tallest building for just a second before he ran towards it. Just when it looked like he would run headfirst into the wall, he speeded up and ran up the side of the building. With relative ease, he made it to the roof of the six story architecture. He looked off somewhere in the distance, his eyes lighting up as he saw his old home.

There, far away from the more urban part of this kingdom, was Castle Acorn. Sonic smiled at its familiarity. He was about to run towards it when a sudden clap of thunder froze him in place for a second. He looked in the opposite direction of the castle and saw dark storm clouds coming his way. A groan emitted from the hedgehog.

"Just what I need." He complained, turning back to face the castle. In the blink of an eye, he disappeared away from the building as he fled from the oncoming storm.

He didn't even realize how badly he wanted to go see the residents of the castle until he locked his eyes on the magnificent monument. Sonic was nothing but a blur as he leaped from rooftop to rooftop and ran through seemingly deserted streets. He felt his heartbeat increase as he finally escaped the city, now in a straight shot for the castle. For once, it seemed like the hero _couldn't _run fast enough.

He weaved with ease through the trees of a forest as he got closer, despite the darkness of the night. The moon above was enough light for the determined hedgehog to make his way through. Every so often, he would run up a tree and look to see if he was still on the right path before continuing on his way. Eventually, Sonic caught glimpse of a glimmer of dim gold light shining through the brush. The hedgehog grinned once he realized he's almost there. The glow seemed to expand the closer he got.

Suddenly, a path emerged and the trees disappeared. Sonic the hedgehog stopped in his tracks as he looked up at the enormous castle.

"A lot bigger than I remember." He said quietly to himself. He took almost timid steps towards the grand entrance of the palace, admiring the sheer magnificence of the structure.

"Who goes there?" A voice called out. Sonic recognized the voice as one of the guards of Castle Acorn. He looked up to a standpoint to see the guard, weapon in hand and seemingly ready to fire. The darkness concealed him too much to see what the weapon was.

"State your name and reason for being here or my men will shoot." The male demanded. The blue hedgehog glances around briefly, looking for the guards with weapons but either the guard was bluffing, or had extremely well concealed his men.

"Sonic the Hedgehog. I'm back from my trip with Tails. I'm here to visit my family."

"Sir Sonic!" The guard exclaimed, recognition in his voice. His weapon went back to his side. "You are always welcome here." With that, he pulled a lever and the doors opened. Sonic squinted from the lights of the castle temporarily blinding him, blinking his eyes. He looked up to the guard, giving him a semi-salute.

"Thanks man!" With his eyes quickly adjusted to the brightness, the hedgehog eagerly went inside, the doors closing immediately behind him. With hardly any patience to re-familiarize himself with his previous home, he jogged up the grand stairway in search of the queen of this castle. He knew how Queen Sally had a tendency to stay up until the late hours of the night working on things that would help her kingdom so he had no concern of waking her up. He just had to find her…

As he continued down one of the many hallways, a sudden buzzing noise caught his attention. Curious, he followed the noise to a nearby hallway, now starting to hear a voice.

"Maaan…it's so boring out here! Espio never lets me in on the fun stuff…" the obviously male voice complained. Whoever it was seemed to be talking to himself…

"Why couldn't I have gone with Vector instead? I'm sure _he _would've let me do more than 'stand guard'! Stupid stupid stupid Espio…" Sonic chuckled once he realized who it was.

"Charmy? That you complaining so loud I can hear you a few hallways down?" Charmy Bee buzzed in surprise at Sonic's sudden appearance. He regained composure once seeing who it was and happily flew over to greet the hedgehog.

"Sonic! I haven't seen you in _ages_! Where have you been? Did you just get back from that trip you went on? Espio told me about it but I wasn't really paying attention. You know how Espio drags on and on and on and on and on and ooooon about stuff. So where'd ya' go? Did you fight some bad guys? Find some secret treasure? Or maybe you-"Sonic had to cut the still very hyper bee off. He may be older now, but Charmy could still talk anyone's ear off.

"I'll have to tell you another time, sport. Have you seen Sal anywhere?" The bee seemed slightly disappointed that he would have to hear the hero's stories another day as he adjusted his helmet. He groaned as he sluggishly flew to a nearby door.

"She's in here with Espio talking about something 'Top Secret'. Why can't I know what's going on? I'm a part of this detective agency toooooo!" Sonic cocked a brow at the 'Top Secret' part. He knew if Sally was dealing with anything like that, something must be going on.

"Has anything bad happened recently?" Sonic questioned. The bee only pouted.

"Not that I know of. I haven't been told ANYTHING!" The door to the room suddenly flew open, a purple chameleon standing there with an irritated face.

"Charmy! I am trying to have a conversation with the queen and we cannot continue our discussion with you yelling every five minutes!" Espio suddenly noticed Sonic standing off to the side. He suddenly straightened up his back and gave a small bow towards the hedgehog.

"You have returned, Sonic." Sonic shook his head in slight embarrassment.

"Espio, I've told you to get out of doing that. I'm not the king anymore." He chuckled lightly as the chameleon stood back up. He let out a small apology.

"And Espio, what's going on? What's all this Top Secret stuff?" The ninja shot a glare towards the bee, knowing it was Charmy that blurted that information out. Charmy gave a nervous smile towards his comrade.

"I'm afraid I cannot tell you, Sonic. You may take it up with Queen Sally if you wish, but I am not authorized to tell you." The hedgehog nodded thoughtfully.

"Can I talk to her? Or is now not a good time?" Espio sighed, glancing back briefly into the room he just came out of. He turned back to Sonic.

"I suppose. She and I have discussed all that we could tonight. We need to get back with Vector anyhow."

"Finally!" exclaimed Charmy who was impatiently flying above them. Espio, too annoyed to even acknowledge his partner at this point, ignores him as he returns back into the room. Sonic listens quietly as he hears the chameleon bid farewell. His ears twitched slightly when he heard his name.

The soft patting of feet could be heard as they briskly came toward the door. Out emerged a dreadfully exhausted looking Queen Sally, spark igniting in her tired sapphire eyes as she saw the hedgehog.

She elegantly put aside a few loose hairs from her face before speaking. "Sonic, welcome back. I assume you had a safe trip home?" Despite how tired the queen physically looked, it was obvious how she put some work into her appearance for the night. But even her beautiful evening gown somehow had signs of wear in it.

"Yeah. You really need to stop staying up so late working, Sal. You look beat." Sonic commented. Sally seemed to raise her chin up a little at this.

"You know more than anyone else the duties I have to fulfill, Sonic." The chipmunk was noticeably irritated, no doubt due to lack of sleep. Espio politely cleared his throat.

"Charmy and I will excuse ourselves now, Queen Sally." Sally gave him a gentle smile.

"Very well, thank you for coming over to inform me of this. Especially so late at night."

"No problem, Sally! It's what we do!" The bee replied rather obnoxiously. Sally grinned up at him. "Of course."

With that, the male chameleon and hyperactive bee left down the corridor. Despite the voices of the two still being heard, Sonic took this time to talk to Sally.

"Sally, what's going on? What's this Top Secret stuff all about?" She looked at him, with an almost blank expression before a smile graced her features.

"Let's not talk about this tonight, Sonic. We can talk of this another time. Tell me, why did you come here so late? And it's freezing outside isn't it?" The blue hedgehog followed the queen into the room and sat down in a nearby chair.

"Yeah, but-"

"If you kept that scarf I made you, you'd probably be a lot warmer than you are now!" She scolded as she went around the room and organized some books and papers scattered about. Sonic awkwardly scratched his cheek.

"Well, actually, I had it on me…But I got in this fight-"

"You got in a fight? Sonic, when was this?"

"Earlier tonight at Rouge's bar."

"Rouge's bar? Who on earth did you fight there?"

Sonic looked away awkwardly. "Shadow…"

"Shadow? He has also come back?" The blue hedgehog nodded.

"How…peculiar." Sally quickly jotted something down on a piece of paper. Her guest didn't really seem to notice though as he took a seat in a nearby chair. "But why did you two get into a fight? You two are usually on good terms." Sonic sighed, leaning forward onto his knees. He rested his head in his hands.

"Amy wasn't pregnant with my kid…she was pregnant with _Shadow's_…She came to Tails' workshop and she had the baby with her. Spitting image of that bastard…" the queen looked at Sonic with a surprised expression.

"Shadow's? I knew Amy had a baby but…are you positive that it was Shadow's baby?" The hedgehog scoffed.

"There's no doubt in my mind about it, Sal. No one else in the world can be that kid's dad." The chipmunk looked away in thought, wondering about something. Sonic glanced at her curiously.

"She and Shadow were together before you and her became an item…What if she was already pregnant when you two got together and just didn't know? I know Amy and I haven't spoken for a while, but I know she would never cheat on someone. She's just not that kind of girl, Sonic." Sally said warmly. Sonic flattened his ears, clenching his fists angrily.

"If that's the case, then why didn't she just tell me when she had the baby? She called me up and everything the night she gave birth, Sal. She was telling me how I was a dad again and that it was a little girl…why would she do that to me?" The hedgehog had a mixture of anger, sadness, and confusion swirling in his emerald eyes. Sally put a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"She was probably scared and worried. She probably was just as surprised as you were. But you should go talk to her about it yourself." Sally sadly watched as Sonic tried to hold his emotions intact and pull himself together. She hated seeing the ex-king of her kingdom break so easily. There was a twinge of jealousy seeing him fall apart so quickly over Amy Rose but she pushed the feeling aside. She had to put her emotions for him aside.

"I'll talk to her. Thank, Sal." He stood up and gave her a tight hug. Sally smiled, hugging him back. After a minute of hugging, they pulled away from each other. Sonic was smiling gently at her.

"So, how have you and the little king in training doing?" The blue hedgehog asked, changing the subject.

"We've been doing fine. He's starting to act more and more like you each day." She laughed, "Doesn't ever seem to sit still."

"Think I can go see him?" Sonic asked in almost pleading manner.

"He's asleep you know."

"Sal, I haven't seen my son in almost a year. I really want to see Skylar." Sally sighed, giving him a small grin.

"I suppose. I guess even if you wake him up, it won't be a bad thing."

"Mommy?" A small voice said from the doorway. Sally and Sonic looked towards the voice to see a little light blue hedgehog hiding behind the door, his big purple eyes looking up at the two adults. The blue blur's smile suddenly beamed upon seeing him.

"Skylar! What are you doing up? You should be in bed." The little hedgehog withdrew a little from hearing his mother scolding at him. He looked down, appearing awfully ashamed of himself.

"I'm sorry…Mister Bee woke me up…" Skylar tried to explain in the best way a young toddler could. Sally sighed about to speak again but Sonic cut her off.

"Sky! Come here, kid! Daddy's finally back home!" He exclaimed happily, getting down to one knee and extending his arms. The little hedgehog only stared at him, a look of unfamiliarity upon his face. Skylar looked towards his mother.

"Mommy, who's that?" That smile immediately dropped from Sonic's face. His ears flattened as he looked sadly at his son.

"Sky, don't you remember me? I'm your dad, kid!" Sally knelt down beside Sonic, nodding with what he was saying.

"This is your father, dear. He's come back." Sky only looked at his mom and his supposed father. He had a very confused look on his face as he looked over his father. Sonic waited impatiently for his son to say something.

"I don't like him…" the seriousness in his childish voice was striking. It stunned the parents, especially Sonic.

"Skylar! Why would you say that?" the mother chipmunk asked angrily, placing her hands on her hips. The little prince looked back at her defiantly.

"Daddy said he'd be back by my birthday…" Sally's expression softened upon hearing that. She glanced over at Sonic, wanting to see how he was taking this. He only smiled sadly at his son.

"You're right, Sky. Daddy did promise you that." Skylar was giving him a childish glare as he listened. "But come here, kid." Sonic beckoned him over with a gently wave of the hand. The toddler obediently walked over, still pouting. He refused to look at his dad once he stood right in front of him.

"Skylar, look at me." Sonic said sternly. Sky, with his nose down, faced his father and looked up at him. The dad almost wanted to smile from how comical his son looked at that moment.

"I promise you, that I won't break another promise again. And I promise to hang out with you to make up for all the time I haven't been here." Sky's ears perked up a little.

"My birthday too?" The young hedgehog's inability to pronounce all his syllables was adorable. Sonic grinned, ruffling Skylar's brown bangs.

"Especially your birthday. I'll get you all the birthday cake you want."

"Really?" The biggest grin grew on the little boy's face. He looked a lot like Sonic when he smiled.

"Absolutley."

"Sonic, I don't want Sky spending a whole day eating nothing but junk food." Sally intervened. Sky quickly ran to her, tugging at her dress.

"But he promised! He promised, mommy!"

"Yeah, I already promised, Sal." Sonic had a smug look on his face as Sally gave him an unamused look. The queen leaned down to pick up her little prince and she gave him an affectionate kiss on his forehead.

"I'll let daddy treat you to a day of cake if you go back to sleep." Skylar pouted.

"Okay…" He said a little sadly, as a little yawn escaped him. Sonic came over and patted the toddlers head.

"Yeah, you need to get your rest, kiddo." Skylar rubbed at his eyes. He nodded at Sonic as he laid his head on Sally's shoulder, seeming to doze off immediately. Sally smiled as Sonic continued gently stroke their son's quills.

"Good night, Sky."

* * *

><p>WHY IS THE FONT GREY.<p>

Oh whatever. Hey guys, sorry (again) for the wait. It takes me a while to get in the mood to write. But this chapter was EXTREMELY annoying. I don't even like it. The original chapter of this part of the story in the old one was soooo short...this one is my longest chapter yet in THIS story. I even added that little Skylar forgot who his dad was ;_;

So sad. Oh well. Birthday cake always makes up for everything. Enjoy~


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